


Beach Rose

by Remilia



Category: Touhou Project
Genre: Beaches, Gen, Kind of AU, Road Trips, Slice of Life, yuuka somehow has a car
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-30
Updated: 2015-05-30
Packaged: 2018-04-02 01:44:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4040902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remilia/pseuds/Remilia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A gaggle of snotnosed little brats and a cranky old woman stuck in a car for hours can only end so well, can't it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beach Rose

    Bright sunlight filtered through the windows, a mellow breeze rolling through the slight opening from the top of the doors. While the trees and their leaves danced together as the car whizzed past them, the green and brown landscape was otherwise serene and calm. Puffy clouds dotted the sky, and mountains flanked them on either side in the distance.

    And Kazami Yuuka had had enough.

    How many hours she had been crammed behind the steering wheel, how long she had been holding in her bladder, and how long she had been listening to those _twerps_ caterwaul out “classic hits” from boy bands, the woman could not know for certain. What she did know was that the troupe had waddled, stubby-legged, into her house earlier that morning and ask―nay, _demand_ that the all-powerful master of the four seasons drive them to the beach. And she had given in.

 

❁❀❁

 

    “ _Pleaaaase,_ ” begged a certain insect youkai, hands clasped against the white cotton of her front. The others were with her as well. _Great_. With trembling lips and watery eyes, Wriggle Nightbug definitely was a pathetic, lowly creature. Yuuka curled her lip up in a silent snarl and turned back around to tend to a flowerbed of summer-bloomed asters. When she glared behind her shoulder, they were still there, queued up in a single-file line.

    “No. Don’t make me repeat myself. You of all people should know that I hold little else with such contempt as I do reiteration. Now scram, all of you, before you get on my bad side. You all look mighty tasty, might I add, even if you are a bunch of scapegraces.” Wriggle held her hand out, reaching toward the woman, but drew it back cautiously. While she knew Yuuka had a reputation of being iron-fisted, she always seemed kind and gentle to the little firefly when they were alone… she threw a glance behind her shoulder only to be returned with the crestfallen faces of her friends. It twisted her stomach into a knot and stung like a slap to the face.

    “I’m going to count to three.”

    “I think we should go, guys,” chirped a voice somewhere near the back. Mystia.

    “One.”

    “Wriggle, please, let’s not test it, we can ask Miss Keine next week…” whimpered another voice. Daiyousei. Wriggle stood planted in the spot. The other girls’ feet pattered towards the door.

    “Two.”

    “Come on, Wriggle, ya bonehead! Stop just standing there, let’s vamoose!” whined a high-pitched, squawking voice, already outside. Without a doubt, that one was Cirno.

    Yuuka narrowed her eyes and turned around quick, a gardening shovel brandished. She shoved it toward Wriggle. The point was dangerously close to her face, hovering mere inches away. Even though it was blunt (and covered in dirt), Wriggle didn’t want to be on the receiving end of its wrath. Antennae standing on end, she bowed quickly and hastily uttered a _thank you for your time_ before leaving the house in a half-sprint, and shut the door with a half-slam.

    Rumia had slumped down against the wall of the house, eyes downcast and countenance gloomy. She was the one who originally brought up the idea of a trip to the beach, because she had never been to one before. Mystia had jabbered on and on about how fun it was to build sand castles and to dip her talons in the cool ebb and flow of the seafoamy waves on a hot summer day, and to Rumia, that sounded like something she’d want to experience with her close-knit gang of friends. Without hesitation Cirno suggested they ask Yuuka, because of her connection with Wriggle (to the insect youkai’s dismay; she quickly hid her face behind her cape). It was a done deal, no two ways about it. The group had then tromped onward toward the Garden of the Sun.

    When she swept her gaze across the rest of the group―Cirno, Mystia and Daiyousei―their faces reflected a similar melancholy. Her antennae flattened against her hair, and she cleared her throat of its embarrassed tightness. “Well, I guess we’ll have to postpone our trip and work around Miss Keine’s schedule. That’s alright, isn’t it, Daiyousei?” Wriggle offered the fairy her kindest smile, as forced as it was. She was all-too-familiar with the emotional volatility of the girl. While she was the biggest (and self-proclaimed oldest) of the bunch, she was as shy as a morning glory when the sun went down, and easily let her feelings get the better of her.

    “Here come the waterworks,” whispered Cirno to a Mystia which held her hat in front of her, wringing it out awkwardly.

    Cirno’s prediction had been spot-on. Within seconds Daiyousei had tears streaming down her face in twin rivers and crowed out forlorn sobs. Wriggle straightened up, taking a step towards her. “Come on now, Dai, don’t be like that, it’ll be…”

    Somewhere behind her, she could hear the first few chords of a snivel coming from Rumia. _This is bad. This is very bad._ She looked at the door, almost expecting the flower youkai to break it down and give them a taste of a real bullet hell. It remained firmly hinged, and there was no sign that Yuuka was even aware that they hadn’t yet left the garden. With two crying girls on either side of her, Wriggle Nightbug was at a loss. So much, in fact, she could barely help her own tears as they welled up and blurred her vision. “Stop it, you guys, let’s just go home, alright?”

    Rumia let out a mournful wail. It was nearly piercing to Mystia, who had the misfortune of having seated herself next to her in an attempt to calm her down. Hands shot up to her feathery ears, and she began to whimper herself.

    Cirno looked around, arms across her chest face cartoonishly cross. “You are all big babies! If it really means that much to ya,”―she didn’t want to swallow her pride and admit that it meant that much to _her_ as well―”then I’ll just waltz right back up to Miss Yuuka an’ give her a piece o’ my mind, alright?”

    “Cirno, _no_!”

    Pigheaded as usual, Cirno paid no heed to Wriggle’s sputtered gasp, and stomped up to the door. Fist raised to knock, it swept open before she could and unceremoniously knocked the ice fairy down onto her bottom.

    Yuuka, with an umbrella flourished like a weapon in one hand and a torn-open bag of mulch in the other (it was spilling just about everywhere: on the ground, down her skirt, worming its way into her shoes), looked absolutely livid. Had it not been for the wetness blearing their vision, they would have quickly scattered on the spot. She waved the umbrella around wildly. “What is the meaning of this? Why haven’t you children scrambled? While you were all screaming your heads off willy-nilly, I broke the seal of the most expensive fertilizer I have! Do you all have a death...wi...”

    Her voice petered off into a quiet noise. On all sides, she was surrounded by sniveling, sobbing, wailing, _crying_ girls― the tallest and oldest only of which coming up to just under her chest. Of course Yuuka had prepared for them to be upset at her bluntness, but she was definitely not prepared to handle one crying child, let alone four (though Cirno, rubbing her sore bottom, had begun to make whining noises under her breath, she wasn’t yet crying).

    “Why haven’t you all left already? Go back home to your families. You have no need for me when you all have parents of your own who can take you anywhere your heart desires.” She paused and considered in that moment that she knew for a fact Wriggle had no one to go home to. Was it the same of the others? After all, birds of a feather flock together.

    Setting down the still-spilling mulch, she knelt down beside Rumia and touched her shoulder. The youkai of the dark didn’t flinch, but neither did she give heed to the woman. “Now, now, child. Stop that, you’re gonna get your front all dirtied with snot and drool.” From the pocket of her plaid vest, she drew out a laced kerchief and dabbed it on her round, red face. “Won't your parents take you?”

    Through hitched sobs, she received no answer to her question. How frustrating. “I don’t like to repeat myself, you know.”

    She glanced up toward the source of the voice. “Nuh uh, Miz Yuuka.”

Cirno had pulled herself to her feet, though she was still rubbing her backside. “Mystia’s got a mom, but she’s a busy busy busy mom! Never sees her. Me ‘n Dai gots our fairy friends, but…” she trailed off, letting her silence fill in the void. She looked at Rumia, then back to Yuuka.

    “... And Rumia is like Wriggle too, then. I see.”

    Yuuka left the kerchief in Rumia’s lap when she stood up and surveyed the crowd. She sighed, the bridge of her nose pinched. It couldn’t have been a minute past 8 in the morning, and she already felt like she wanted to retire permanently. Usually those feelings didn’t settle until mid-afternoon. “Mystia, your mom wouldn’t wonder where you’re going?”

    The bird looked up, eyes bright and red. “Um.” It was a shy chirp. While Rumia had quieted herself, Daiyousei was still whining pitifully. Wriggle rubbed her shoulder, trying to soothe her down past her own tears. It was hard to concentrate, and Yuuka found herself restraining the urge to pile a fist full of soil in the fairy’s piehole. “... I don’t think she’d mind, no. She is a busy lady, my momma. I don’t think she’ll be home for a while anyway. Why do you ask?”

    With a sigh, the plant youkai arched back until her spine made a terrible cracking noise. She followed with her shoulders, then her neck, and finally her jaw. “Alright, kids. The car’s in the back. Four can sit in the back if you squeeze in tight, but…” Her eyes rested on Daiyousei. She was taller than the rest, and her wings would take up a fair amount of space, even folded against her back. “You.” A pointed finger jabbed at her. “You can sit up front. That won’t be a problem, now, would it?”

    Her smile grew wide, every sharp tooth shown clear as crystal. Anybody who had crossed Yuuka in a bad mood before was familiar with this smile. Though her eyes were wide with terror, Daiyousei figured refusing the offer would be on par with insulting Yuuka’s carefully cultivated garden. She wouldn’t risk it. Meekly, she nodded and covered her face.

    “It’s settled then. Wriggle? Quit your blubbering. You look like a baby, and it’s embarrassing me. Go home and get an change of clothes, all of you, and get back here by noon. I won’t say it again.” Stunned silence filled the air. Yuuka scanned the girls, firmly in their spots, and felt her finger testily twitch against the handle of her umbrella.

    “Did you kids hear a single thing I said? Get out of here now! Go on, get! Scram! And don’t make me wait!”

    They didn’t need to be told again. Daiyousei grasped for Cirno and zipped off toward the west. Rumia (with the help of Mystia) pulled herself to her feet and politely handed the wet kerchief back to Yuuka then, hand-in-hand with Mystia, shot off toward the east. Wriggle stared into red eyes, trying to read the atmosphere. Yuuka opened her mouth, but before any words could drip like acid off her tongue, the insect youkai scrambled off into the field of sunflowers until she had been swallowed up by a sea of yellow and orange.

 

❁❀❁

 

    “Are we there yet?”

    Yuuka swore to every god she could list off the top of her head if she had to hear those four words one more time, she would go straight to hell in a heartbeat. Back bent (damn the low roof!) and fingers gnarled as if to kill on the wheel, she was in no mood to continuously say _no_ every fifteen minutes. On top of the old Buick’s engine rattling off _slightly_ distressing noises and sputtering clouds of smog like miasma occasionally, the last thing she needed was a handful of snotnosed brats giving her a hard time after oh-so- _lovingly_ taking time out of her busy gardening schedule.

    She shot a glare over her shoulder. From left to right sat Mystia, Wriggle, Rumia and Cirno (though Cirno was sitting with her back against the door, unbuckled and knees to her chest, so her wings wouldn’t skewer the little blonde). While Rumia looked almost asleep, mouth agape and head lolled onto her shoulder, Mystia wiggled on her seat and shook her arms to the beat of the album she _begged_ Yuuka to put on. Wriggle slumped forward with her hands squished between her legs, and she looked all sorts of uncomfortable when the night sparrow rubbed against her and said, “Come on, Wrig’, you know the words! Sing with me, won’t you?” and halfheartedly mumbled the chewed lyrics to please her friend. Cirno, once again, asked if they were at their destination.

    When Yuuka looked over to the side, she saw Daiyousei in the same position as the last time she had looked over, as if the poor girl had been petrified. Face forward, lips tight, back stiff as a board and hands gripping the edge of her seat, the greater fairy looked like she would rather be kicked out of the moving vehicle than spend another minute with the cruel, wicked, capricious mistress. “Lighten up a little, won’t you? You act like you’ve seen a monster.” She could only barely see the way the fairy’s eyes slowly rolled to give her a quick lookover before darting back to the road. “Oh, come on, you. I’m not that bad. Has Wriggle been feeding you lies about me?”

    “No!”

    Both Wriggle and Daiyousei jumped to the answer. Daiyousei had merely shut tight her eyes and whimpered it, but Wriggle leapt forward and grasped the back of Yuuka’s seat. Both insect and fairy looked at the other, sweat pouring down both faces. A raucous howl of laughter filled the vehicle, immediately rousing Rumia from her sleep and silencing Mystia. Embarrassed, Wriggle slunk back to her original position and hid her face behind her cape.

    “Look,” Yuuka said sternly after pulling herself together. She clicked off the radio. “I might be a mean old woman, but stop looking so tense. It’s making me upset. You wouldn’t want me to accidentally drive off the side of the road and kill everybody under the roof, now, would you? That’s a heavy burden to bear.”

    She took one hand off the steering wheel and reached down the compartment between both of them. Past her parasol, something crinkled. Pulling out an individually wrapped sponge cake snack, she gave an underhand toss to Daiyousei and returned the hand. Daiyousei fumbled the treat and watched in horror as it fell between her feet. She could barely muster up the courage to pick it back up.

    They rode in silence.

    Half an hour. Thirty golden minutes of glorious, unabashed silence. Besides the low purr and occasional wheezing from the engine, nothing disturbed Kazami Yuuka, and she felt at peace.

    Good things never last, though.

    “Miss Yuuka?”

    Lips pursed in the tightest line she could make, she grunted in acknowledgement. If that runt of a fairy asked if they were at their destination, she would make a shaved treat out of her.

    “I gotsa take a leak.”

    Of course she should have expected this would arise at some point, but she hadn’t. Nearly swerving off the road in her surprise, Yuuka slowed her car down to a putt and pulled over. Would it have mattered if she stopped right in the middle of the road given how dead it had been the past three hours? She doubted it.

    “Why didn’t you use the restroom before we started the car?”

    Cirno shifted. “I did. That was like a bajillion hours ago though, and I did drink that entire soda you got me.”

    “I didn’t― that was for Rumia, you little…”

    “Is there a stop coming up? I can’t hold it in much longer.”

    Yuuka drew her lips into a snarl, looking over the back of her seat. “Why can’t you just use those bushes out there? Nobody’ll see you.”

    Now it was Cirno’s turn to pull her lips up. “You gots t’be kidding me, miz. Do you think I got no dignity? Be real.” Wriggle shot the fairy a warning glance and waved her hand. The word _stop_ formed on her lips. On the other end of the back seat, Mystia drew her hat over her face. Up front, Daiyousei only furthered her statuesque posture. Rumia was left sitting there, completely unconcerned with the bloodshed that was about to befall her comrade. Cirno herself was none the wiser.

 

❁❀❁

 

    One brief break at a rest stop to utilize the facilities and stock up on snacks (as well as dress Cirno’s war-scarred face in bandages featuring cartoon mice and ducks), the engine hitched back to life and they were on the road once more. “My momma said eating so many snacks was bad for you,” said Mystia, snapping a Chick-O-Stick in half between her sharp teeth. She offered the other half to Rumia, stretching across Wriggle’s chest. Wriggle felt the urge to bat her hand away, but her own were squished between her thighs in the cramped backseat.

    “We should all be thankful for Miss Yuuka,” trembled a voice from the front seat. Daiyousei, still as rigid as ever and staring straight ahead, had not budged a single inch since they had left the stop. “She has treated us very well, hasn’t she?”

    “Yes, yes. Haven’t I, ladies?” Yuuka laughed again and reached over, clapping the fairy on the shoulder. “See, I knew you’d grow to like me. I’m not that bad after all, now, huh?” Daiyousei firmly remained silent and avoided casting even the most miniscule glance over to her. Cirno just grumbled under her breath, something like _yeah, sure is nice, mm-hmm, absolutely_. Rumia pat her friend’s knee in an attempt to comfort her. Poor thing’s pride shattered just like her humerus would have if Yuuka hadn’t been held back by the combined strength of the other girls (besides Rumia).

    “Nuh. Don’t touch me.”

    “I’m just trying to help…”

    “I don’t want no stinkin’ help.” Cirno turned her chin up and crossed her arms. Being looked down upon itself was embarrassing, but by someone like Rumia? Weak little Rumia? “Mind your beeswax.”

    Mystia leaned over and puffed her cheeks out. “Come on now, Cirno, don’t be like that.” She rested her elbows on Wriggle’s knees. “You don’t have to act so brash. She’s just trying to help.”

    “Help, schmelp! I don’t want none of your pity, alright?”

    “Maybe you should have thought about not wanting your _friends_ being _nice_ to you before you went and―”

    Cirno’s foot shot out, striking the night sparrow in the face. It sharply brushing against the shadow’s stomach in the process. Yowling out in pain, Mystia jolted upwards and smashed into Wriggle’s stomach and chest, who doubled over herself. In her attempt to grab her stomach, she found herself elbowing Rumia’s ribcage. The blonde threw her head back in a dreadful whine.

    _Ignore it, Yuuka._

    Blinded by anger, Rumia grasped Cirno’s leg and sunk her teeth into it. The flesh was rigid under her fangs, but the strength of her jaws could have easily splintered the bone into shards if she tried hard enough. Now it was Cirno’s turn to scream out, bringing her hands to her face to cover her mouth.

    _This is a nightmare, and when you wake up, you’ll be in your cozy bed surrounded by sunflowers once again._

    Mystia began to sob, holding her nose. Black liquid had begun to leak from where she had been struck. They were muffled at first, but grew into loud, nasal cries. It was reminiscent of a goose honking. Cirno’s own painful yelping was reduced to tears, though she tried to hold them in. Her chest gave heavy heaves. Wriggle, while in pain, tried to pry Rumia’s jaws off the ice fairy’s leg.

    _Just a nightmare, Yuuka. Just a nightmare._

    Daiyousei stared forward, eyes glazed over and wet. The sides of her mouth feebly twitched. Her fingers clutching the cushion tightened their grip. Then the tears began, a couple drops at first, until they gushed from her eyes in a salty mess. They were silent sobs, head drooped forward and eyes shut tight, but sobs nonetheless.

    Enough was enough.

    For the third time that trip, Yuuka pulled the car to a stop (though this time she didn’t bother pulling over to the side) and turned around to glare at the crying girls.

    “That’s it! All of you, shut up for five seconds. I’m going to turn this thing around, and we’re going back. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. You are to go immediately back to your homes, or wherever it is you go, and forget this ever happened. Do you understand?”

    Silence filled the vehicle. Rumia let go and straightened her back.

    “Do any of you think this has been a barrel of laughs for me? For even the slightest moment?” Her eyes scanned the now-frozen faces. “Any of you? No? Because it hasn’t.”

    She waited for an objection, or someone to cry out and start the domino effect all over again, but only a tinny quiet answered her. She felt awkward in that moment. She could see the the bites on Cirno’s legs, as well as the goopy black blood pouring from Mystia’s nose, and sighed hard enough she felt her lungs would collapse. “Daiyousei, would you be a lamb? Could you get the bandages and―”

    She could hear sirens. Straightening her back (her head hit the low roof of the car, and she spat out a _damn it_ ), she fumbled for her keys and tried to ignite the engine, quick.

    “Ma’am?”

    She turned over to the window and offered a smile. “Reisen, dear, how have you been? It’s been quite a while, I think. What brings you all the way out here?”

    The tall girl bent down to Yuuka’s level and shook her head, ears flopping as she did. Stern as her face may have been, it was hard to take the moon rabbit seriously when her ears bounced along with her head. “Were you fully aware you had stopped right in the middle of the street, Miss Kazami? Given how narrow this road already is, you could have caused a serious accident. I’m afraid I’m going to have to write you up a ticket.”

    A _ticket_? This day kept getting worse as it passed, Yuuka found.

    “I haven’t seen hide nor hair of anybody on the road at all, and I’ve been on the road for hours. Do you know how far we are from the Garden?”

    “I don’t make the rules, I’m afraid. This is a serious violation, and we must ensure you don’t do it again. Here you are.” Reisen slipped the ticket through the half-opened window, and Yuuka snatched it, but didn’t take her eyes off the girl at all. “That’ll be quite alright. If you don’t mind me, I’ve got a gaggle of brats in the back, and we really must be on our way. Thank you.” Rolling the windows up and throwing the crumpled up paper at Daiyousei’s feet, Yuuka started the engine once again and they rolled off down the road. She seemed to have completely forgotten about the threat to turn around and drive back home.

   

❁❀❁

 

    The car rolled over a tall hill with a painful-sounding wretch, and the shimmering endless blue grew visible. Cirno was the first to jump up and point out the front window, exclaiming, “There! Look! I sees it!”

    “Oh, wow,” Rumia mumbled, eyes wide. It looked just as pretty as Mystia had said it was. Ceruleans met azures in a seamless gradient, waves pulling up against the tan sand and falling back leaving only a frothy foam in its wake. It looked pleasant and cool, juxtaposing against the heat that had elevated from tepid in the morning to sweltering in the afternoon. Mystia swelled in pride, a broad smile stretching across her face. Wriggle and Daiyousei were simply too dumbfounded by the serene beauty and salty scents and rumbling sounds that tickles their senses to say anything.

    “Yep.” Yuuka had nothing else to offer as she pulled up to a half-filled lot. She could see some children dotting the sand in the distance, and when the car stopped with a terminal _puff_ from the exhaust, the children threw the doors open and rushed down the concrete slope into the sand. Cirno bounced from foot to foot, the black ground painfully hot against her sensitive feet. Soon they joined the crowd dotting the horizon. Daiyousei stopped and looked over her shoulder to Yuuka, still sitting behind the wheel. She smiled and waved to the youkai, dipping her head, before taking flight and following after the others. Yuuka could only sigh, roll the windows down further, and lean forward on the wheel.

    “Miss Yuuka?”

    Yuuka rolled her head over to the side, glaring out the window. Daiyousei stood there, hands holding down her skirt in the gentle breeze. She must have turned back around while Yuuka hadn't been paying attention. She smiled gently, but her eyebrows were turned upwards, as if sad. “Aren’t you coming down with us? We’re all waiting for you.” Her voice still trembled, but it was the first full sentence she had spoken to the woman the entire trip. Yuuka smiled in turn, opened the door, and pulled herself out straight along with her parasol.

    The parasol opened like a flower blooming in the morning sun, and she held it over her shoulder―positioning it just enough that the shade encompassed the fairy as well. Daiyousei’s gentle smile broke into a wide toothy grin. She reached up to grab Yuuka’s hand, and pulled her down towards the slope where the concrete met the warm sand.

    Today wasn’t so bad after all, Yuuka thought with content finality.

**Author's Note:**

> This is a fairly old fic, and I only touched it up a little before posting it here. It's very nerve-wracking to post, but I hope you can enjoy it!
> 
> It's "sort of AU" because I don't think cars (especially not a Buick from 1920-1930!), Chick-o-Sticks and the like are very likely to pop up in Gensokyo... or a beach. Where did Yuuka even get her licence? Why is Reisen a police officer? The world is full of mysteries.


End file.
